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by ChokolatteJedi



Category: Howl no Ugoku Shiro | Howl's Moving Castle
Genre: Friendship/Love, Happy Ending, M/M, Yuletide, Yuletide 2011
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-12-25
Updated: 2011-12-25
Packaged: 2017-10-28 02:44:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 503
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/302862
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChokolatteJedi/pseuds/ChokolatteJedi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Calcifer is freed</p>
            </blockquote>





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**Author's Note:**

  * For [heeroluva](https://archiveofourown.org/users/heeroluva/gifts).



> Thanks to my great beta, Trialia

Calcifer raced away from the group, reveling in his newfound freedom. He had every intention of speeding as far away from the humans as possible, perhaps even back beyond the moon to the home he barely remembered.

Almost instantly, though, he began to think of Howl. Yes, when the small boy captured him, it was the worst possible fate for the fire demon, but that had been lifetimes ago.

Fire could be tamed by no man, and any who tried would learn that lesson as their eyeballs crisped into ash. But Howl had not only tamed Calcifer, he had befriended him. Howl gave Calcifer a home, an important job to do, and friends.

Calcifer had never had a friend before. Before he met Howl, Calcifer knew little of human emotions, but he considered them foolish and signs of weakness. Now he recognized his own feelings of friendship with Heen and Markl, hatred of the Witch of the Waste, and fondness for Sophie.

And, dare he even think it? For Howl, Calcifer felt more strongly than he did any of the others. For Howl, Calcifer thought he might even call it love.

For twenty years, Calcifer had run Howl's castle, waited up for him to come home, and watched as the wizard slipped further and further into his magic. And despite his complaints, despite his schemes, at some point his fear and annoyance had turned into concern and love.

Calcifer raced across the sky, freed of hearth and pot for the first time in twenty years, but some small traitorous part of him wanted to go back. It wasn't that he was afraid of the great wide world he barely remembered, but his mind was filled with images of the humans he had just left behind.

How would Sophie and Howl make it without Calcifer? How would they move the castle? Or heat water? Or cook? An ordinary fire couldn't do all of those things nearly as well as the great fire-demon Calcifer did.

And Sophie! She would work too hard trying to keep up the castle all by herself. And how would Markl know which door to open? Who would tell him about the different kinds of magic?

And Howl. Calcifer and Howl had been together for so long... could they even live apart now?

And would they want to?

Calcifer found himself drifting down, back towards the small square of floor that was all that remained of the castle.

"Hey! It's Calcifer!" Markl exclaimed as he approached.

"You didn't have to come back, Calcifer," Howl added quietly. Calcifer exchanged a look with his friend and knew instantly that he had made the right decision.

Not that he could fully admit that. "I kinda missed you guys. And it looks like it's gonna rain."

As Sophie spoke to him, Calcifer looked back at Howl. Of course the wizard saw through his excuse. "Welcome back," Howl whispered as Sophie kissed him. Calcifer turned bright pink and blew off a few sparks.

He was home.


End file.
